Philippine businesses, particularly small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that export to Europe, are called to prepare for the market’s sustainability and traceability requirement as they strengthen access to the EU.
InterCommerce Network sales officer Loren Gusto said the EU Digital Product Passport (DPP) will introduce new requirements related to product traceability, sustainability, and digital documentation.
“While the obligations will primarily fall on EU (European Union) importers, these requirements are expected to cascade to suppliers, including Philippine exporters. Early awareness and preparation will therefore be important,” she said in an email.
Tradelink Electronic Commerce Limited, a digital service provider in Hong Kong actively supporting local businesses to comply with EU’s DPP requirements, said the regulation mandatory rollout is slated for the first to second quarters of 2027, focusing on the large batteries sector, followed by textiles.
Its rollout for the electronics sector is slated in the fourth quarter of 2027, and will be expanded to construction, furniture and packaging sectors in 2028-2029, it said.
By 2030, the DPP is set to be deeply integrated across all industries, including automotive, machinery, medical devices, and others, it added.
Tradelink said the DPP transition presents significant challenges for traders, particularly for SMEs, given its compliance complexity, costs and certification burden, tight implementation timeline, digital infrastructure gap, and data and visibility challenges.
“EU authorities will only accept DPPs accessible via officially recognized registry systems,” it said.
DPP is a standardized digital record serving as a product’s digital identity. A core requirement under the EU Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) and part of the EU Green Deal, it enables sustainability, traceability, and transparency throughout the product lifecycle.
It is designed to boost transparency across product value chains by providing clear data on origin, materials, environmental footprint, and end-of-life options.
Sample data required for DPP include product details, environmental impact, durability and repairability, certification, repair information, and recycling information.
Under this regulation, the online database is accessible via Quick Response (QR) code or Near Field Communication (NFC) tag.